DWCS 71 winner Navajo Stirling: 'Finally now my dream can commence' with UFC contract

LAS VEGAS – Navajo Stirling is ready for the big stage after Dana White’s Contender Series 71. Stirling (5-0) knocked out Phillip Latu (6-2) with a thunderous left hand Tuesday in their light heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex to earn a UFC contract.

City Kickboxing’s Stirling said nerves were a non-factor, and he felt right where he belonged in the octagon.

“It’s all a part of my dream that’s going as I planned it,” Stirling told MMA Junkie and other reporters Tuesday at a post-fight news conference. “I feel like I’m meant to be here.

“For me, it’s like, finally I could do what I signed up for, I can fight people. Opportunity runs thin where I’m from, so now that I get to be in the big league and fight all the top guys is just like finally, now my dream can commence.”

Stirling competed for the third time in just four months. He never had a doubt that he would deliver in the biggest moment of his career.

“I’ve been talking my game up for so long, I was inviting as much pressure as possible,” Stirling said. “I know where I’m headed, so I was just trying to take on as much pressure as a person possibly can, and I just go through and cook these boys.”